.TH apache2ctl 8 "April 2008" .\" The Apache Software License, Version 1.1 .\" .\" Copyright (c) 2000-2002 The Apache Software Foundation. All rights .\" reserved. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in .\" the documentation and/or other materials provided with the .\" distribution. .\" .\" 3. The end-user documentation included with the redistribution, .\" if any, must include the following acknowledgment: .\" "This product includes software developed by the .\" Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/)." .\" Alternately, this acknowledgment may appear in the software itself, .\" if and wherever such third-party acknowledgments normally appear. .\" .\" 4. The names "Apache" and "Apache Software Foundation" must .\" not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this .\" software without prior written permission. For written .\" permission, please contact apache@apache.org. .\" .\" 5. Products derived from this software may not be called "Apache", .\" nor may "Apache" appear in their name, without prior written .\" permission of the Apache Software Foundation. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED .\" WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES .\" OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE .\" DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE APACHE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION OR .\" ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, .\" SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT .\" LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF .\" USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND .\" ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, .\" OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT .\" OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .\" This software consists of voluntary contributions made by many .\" individuals on behalf of the Apache Software Foundation. For more .\" information on the Apache Software Foundation, please see .\" . .\" .SH NAME apache2ctl \- Apache HTTP server control interface .SH SYNOPSIS When acting in SysV init mode, apache2ctl takes simple, one-word commands, defined below. .PP .B apachectl .I command .PP .B apache2ctl .I command .PP When acting in pass-through mode, apache2ctl can take all the arguments available for the httpd binary. .PP .B apachectl .RI [ httpd-argument ] .PP .B apache2ctl .RI [ httpd-argument ] .PP .SH DESCRIPTION .B apache2ctl is a front end to the Apache HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server. It is designed to help the administrator control the functioning of the Apache .B apache2 daemon. .PP .B NOTE: The default Debian configuration requires the environment variables .BR APACHE_RUN_USER , .BR APACHE_RUN_GROUP , and .B APACHE_PID_FILE to be set in .BR /etc/apache2/envvars . .PP The .B apache2ctl script returns a 0 exit value on success, and >0 if an error occurs. For more details, view the comments in the script. .PP .SH OPTIONS The \fIcommand\fP can be any one or more of the following options: .TP 14 .BI start Start the Apache daemon. Gives an error if it is already running. .TP .BI stop Stops the Apache daemon. .TP .BI restart Restarts the Apache daemon by sending it a SIGHUP. If the daemon is not running, it is started. This command automatically checks the configuration files via .BI configtest before initiating the restart to to catch the most obvious errors. However, it is still possible for the daemon to die because of problems with the configuration. .TP .BI fullstatus Displays a full status report from .B mod_status. For this to work, you need to have mod_status enabled on your server and a text-based browser such as \fIlynx\fP available on your system. The URL used to access the status report can be set by setting the .B APACHE_STATUSURL variable in .BR /etc/apache2/envvars . .TP .BI status Displays a brief status report. Similar to the fullstatus option, except that the list of requests currently being served is omitted. .TP .BI graceful Gracefully restarts the Apache daemon by sending it a SIGUSR1. If the daemon is not running, it is started. This differs from a normal restart in that currently open connections are not aborted. A side effect is that old log files will not be closed immediately. This means that if used in a log rotation script, a substantial delay may be necessary to ensure that the old log files are closed before processing them. This command automatically checks the configuration files via apache2ctl configtest before initiating the restart to to catch the most obvious errors. However, it is still possible for the daemon to die because of problems with the configuration. .TP .BI graceful-stop Gracefully stops the Apache httpd daemon. This differs from a normal stop in that currently open connections are not aborted. A side effect is that old log files will not be closed immediately. .TP .BI configtest Run a configuration file syntax test. It parses the configuration files and either reports .B "Syntax Ok" or information about the particular syntax error. This test does not catch all errors. .TP .BI help Displays a short help message. .TP The following option was available in earlier versions but has been removed. .TP .BI startssl To start httpd with SSL support, you should edit your configuration file to include the relevant directives and then use the normal apache2ctl start. .SH ENVIRONMENT The behaviour of .B apache2ctl can be influenced with these environment variables: .BR APACHE_HTTPD , .BR APACHE_LYNX , .BR APACHE_STATUSURL , .BR APACHE_ULIMIT_MAX_FILES , .BR APACHE_RUN_DIR , .BR APACHE_LOCK_DIR , .BR APACHE_RUN_USER , .BR APACHE_ARGUMENTS , .BR APACHE_ENVVARS . See the comments in the script for details. These variables (except .BR APACHE_ENVVARS ) can be set in .BR /etc/apache2/envvars . .SH SEE ALSO .BR apache2(8) , .BR /usr/share/doc/apache2/README.Debian.gz .